Hippokratesa z Chios kwadratura księżyczków

I dedicate this article, in Memoriam, to Professor Sylwester Dworacki, my first guide in Greek texts, with whom I later had the distinguished privilege to frequently discuss diverse issues in philological exegesis. The little-known figure of Hippocrates of Chios has recently attracted strong interest of several scholars, though mainly by historians of mathematics. Aristotle mentioned critically his quadrature of the circle by means of segments or by means of lunules. Aristotle’s commentator Simplicius, citing Eudemus of Rhodos, quoted a longer paraphrase of Hippocrates’ arguments regarding the quadrature of the lunules. Appropriately selected parts from these arguments are given here in Greek, along with their faithful Polish translation. One should carefully understand the critical stance of Aristotle, who in his particular way understood quadrature as the finding of the geometrical mean and, therefore, accused Hippocrates of using false diagrams.

Indoor radon assessment in kindergartens: towards a national action plan

The study presents the results of indoor radon monitoring of 342 public kindergarten rooms of a Brazilian municipality within a region featuring high natural radioactivity. Facility characterization local perception assessment were also conducted. Rooms were monitored by exposure of ATD detectors for an average 356 days. Monitoring resulted in arithmetic and population weighted means of 83 and 82 Bq m-3 respectively, while a geometrical mean value of 61 Bq m-3 was estimated. Concentrations ranged between < 3 and 697 Bq m-3 while 8.1% of rooms presented values above 200 Bq m-3 (in different units), where similarities in construction materials used in floors were noted. High variability was observed among regions, CEI units within a region and even rooms within a unit. The collected data on room ventilation elucidated challenges to large monitoring programs when evaluating the impact of human habits and window characteristics in results. The high variability of results poses challenges to the establishment of national programs in large and diverse areas such as Brazil. The first indoor radon study in children facilities in the country represents an important step towards it.

Comparative analysis of the physical properties of two varieties of periwinkle relevant to the design of processing equipment

The physical properties of agricultural products are essential in designing machines, equipment, and systems for efficient processing operations. Two periwinkle varieties, viz Tympanotonus fuscatus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Pachymelania aurita O. F. Müller, 1774, were utilised in this study to investigate and determine their physical properties relevant to the design of efficient processing equipment. The geometric (axial dimensions, mean diameters, surface area, sphericity, aspect ratio) and gravimetric (bulk and true densities, mass, and porosity) properties were measured. The averages for the major diameter, arithmetic mean diameter, geometrical mean diameter, and surface area were highest in the T. fuscatus variety. In contrast, the minor diameter, sphericity, and aspect ratio were highest in the P. aurita variety. The average bulk and true densities, porosity, and average periwinkle weight for T. fuscatus were higher than the P. aurita variety. Tukey's pairwise comparison analysis carried out on all the physical properties of the T. fuscatus, and P. aurita varieties of the periwinkle shells revealed a statistically significant difference at P &lt; 5%.

RNA-Based Multiplexing Assay for Routine Testing of Fusion and Splicing Variants in Cytological Samples of NSCLC Patients

The detection of ALK receptor tyrosine kinase (ALK), ROS proto-oncogen1, receptor tyrosine kinase (ROS1), ret proto-oncogen (RET), and MET proto-oncogen exon 14 skipping (METΔex14) allows for the selection of specific kinase inhibitor treatment in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Multiplex technologies are recommended in this setting. We used nCounter, a multiplexed technology based on RNA hybridization, to detect ALK, ROS1, RET, and METΔex14 in RNA purified from cytological specimens (n = 16) and biopsies (n = 132). Twelve of the 16 cytological samples (75.0%) were evaluable by nCounter compared to 120 out of 132 (90.9%) biopsies. The geometrical mean (geomean) of the housekeeping genes of the nCounter panel, but not the total amount of RNA purified, was significantly higher in biopsies vs. cytological samples. Among cytological samples, we detected ALK (n = 3), METΔex14 (n = 1) and very high MET expression (n = 1) positive cases. The patient with METΔex14 had a partial response to tepotinib, one of the patients with ALK fusions was treated with crizotinib with a complete response. Cell blocks and cytological extensions can be successfully used for the detection of fusions and splicing variants using RNA-based methods such as nCounter.

Physico-Chemical Properties of Four Selected Groundnut Varieties

The physico-chemical properties of four popular groundnut (peanut) varieties namely Trombay-Akola Groundnut-24 (TAG-24), Kadiri-6 (K6), Kadiri-9 (K9), and Kadiri-Harithandra (KH) were determined by following the standard measurement methods. The average geometrical mean diameter (GMD) and sphericity values of peanut pods ranged from 14.91 mm (K9) to 16.61 mm (KH) and from 0.56 to 0.63, respectively. The 100 whole pods mass for four different peanut varieties are significantly different from each other. The bulk density of peanut pods ranged from 232.7 kg/m3 (K9) to 289.0 kg/m3 (K6) and these are significantly different from each other. The calculated porosity values for peanut pods varied from 37.89% (KH) to 47.32% (TAG-24). For the kernels, the highest GMD value of 10.57 mm was recorded for the KH variety and the lowest GMD value of 9.33 mm was found for the K6 variety. Sphericity values for peanut kernels ranged from 0.71 (K6) to 0.78 (K9). The average 100 kernels mass ranged from 46.23 g (TAG-24) to 56.34 g (for K9). The bulk density of kernels ranged from 583.4 kg/m3 (K9) to 611.9 kg/m3 (K6). However, the bulk density of peanut kernels is not significantly different for the varieties from each other. The true density values of peanut kernels ranged from1020.4 kg/m3 (K6) to 1052.0 kg/m3 (TAG-24). The porosity values for peanut kernels ranged from 40.06% (K6) to 43.64% (TAG-24) and they are not significantly different for the varieties from each other. Among all the varieties, KH variety had the lowest ash content of 2.18% and also the lowest protein content. The oil content of selected peanut varieties ranged from 45.36% (K9) to 48.22% (KH).The physical properties measured in this study are helpful to design and develop suitable pre and primary processing equipment. Proximate composition gives an idea to decide peanut’s suitability for manufacturing products such as peanut butter.

DETECTION OF MYCOPLASMA SYNOVIAE ANTIBODIES IN SERA OF BROILER CHICKENS BY THE ELISA

Mycoplasma synoviae (MS) infection most frequently occurs as a subclinical respiratory infection. Approximately 2-4 weeks are required for antibodies to develop in infected birds. Clinical examination was made daily, in broilers after 10 days old, because at this age there were seen the first symptoms of disease. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is commonly used as a diagnostic test and for routine testing of flocks and may replace serum plate agglutination as the primary serologic test. The serologic exam carried out through ELISA test at 21 and 35 days evidenced the specific antibodies and sero-conversion phenomenon. At 21 days old (B I), 22, 91% from the analysed sera were positive, and at 35 days old (B II), 26,66% were positive, until the age for slaughter (42 days). The value of titrers geometrical mean of 10,92 times higher at 35 days old than at 21 days old and the higher proportion of the obtained positive titrers, reveal both the implication of M. synoviae in the etiology of disease, and her infectiousness, by horizontal transmission.

Assessment of metals fabricability by pressure

A variant of quantitative assessment of metals fabricability by pressure is offered according to the standard tests on mechanical properties. The complex parameter is used, defined as geometrical mean of three parameters characterizing plasticity, hardening and energy intensity of alloys deformation. Relations of scientific and engineering characteristics of deformability assessment for the use of scientific researches results in factory practice are determined, being guided on the standard test methods. Examples of the use of received equations are resulted for a number of steels in processes of metal forming. Testing of the proposed method was carried out according to the known data. Estimation of the complex parameters was made in accordance with Harrington desirability scale. The offered technique can be used for an assessment of fabricability of new steels and alloys.

90Sr Content in the Stemwood of Forests within Ukrainian Polissya

The consequences of the Chernobyl disaster continue to threaten humans and ecosystems across fallout gradient in Northern Ukraine and nearby. Forest ecosystems contain substantial stocks of long-lived radionuclide 90Sr which was leached from the fuel matrix during the disaster. Nowadays, there is a lack of information about current transfer factors (TF) of this radionuclide from soil to the stemwood of native tree species. We have estimated 90Sr content in the forest stemwood of three tree species utilizing models of their growth and yield and collected woody samplings. TFs provided here vary greatly across studied tree species (18.0 × 2.1±1, 8.7 × 2.8±1, and 10.4 × 6.0±1 n × 10−3 m2·kg−1 (geometrical mean (GM) ± geometrical standard deviation, GSD) for the above species, respectively) and together with indicators of soil contamination allow us to reliably assess local stocks in the stemwood. Silver birch stands are estimated to deposit the highest 90Sr stocks. Herewith, at 25 years old Black alder stands could accumulate higher stocks (up to 35 MBq·ha−1) under rich growth conditions. TFs obtained in this study substantially exceed values provided by the International Atomic Energy Agency for studied tree species and thus could entail respective restrictions on use of firewood across large areas in Ukrainian Polissya. Data provided here may be harnessed to support decisions of respective stakeholders to provide credibly safe management of the contaminated forest ecosystems.

Evaluating Physical and Fiscal Water Leakage in Water Distribution System

With increasing population, the need for research ideas on the field of reducing wastage of water can save a big amount of water, money, time, and energy. Water leakage (WL) is an essential problem in the field of water supply field. This research is focused on real water loss in the water distribution system located in Ethiopia. Top-down and bursts and background estimates (BABE) methodology is performed to assess the data and the calibration process of the WL variables. The top-down method assists to quantify the water loss by the record and observation throughout the distribution network. In addition, the BABE approach gives a specific water leakage and burst information. The geometrical mean method is used to forecast the population up to 2023 along with their fiscal value by the uniform tariff method. With respect to the revenue lost, 42575 Br and 42664 Br or in 1562$ and 1566$ were lost in 2017 and 2018, respectively. The next five-year population was forecasted to estimate the possible amount of water to be saved, which was about 549627 m3 and revenue 65,111$ to make the system more efficient. The results suggested that the majority of losses were due to several components of the distribution system including pipe-joint failure, relatively older age pipes, poor repairing and maintenance of water taps, pipe joints and shower taps, negligence of the consumer and unreliable water supply. As per the research findings, recommendations were proposed on minimizing water leakage.

An Assessment of Malaria Parasite Density among HIV/AIDS-Subjects at Different Levels of CD4 T-Cells Prior to Antimalarial Therapy at Chulaimbo Sub-County Hospital, Western Kenya

Background. Malaria and HIV/AIDS infections are among the major public health concerns in sub-Saharan Africa, where they are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Recent findings indicate that individual people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) with lower levels of CD4 T-cell count below 200/mm3 tend to experience higher mean malaria parasite densities than their counterparts with higher CD4 T-cells counts. Aim. The study was conducted to assess the pattern of malaria parasite density at different levels of CD4 T-cells among people living with HIV/AIDS in Western part of Kenya. Subjects and Methods. A randomized antimalarial treatment study among 126 people living with HIV/AIDS was conducted at Chulaimbo Sub-County Hospital, Western Kenya. All the participants enrolled into the study had their blood samples assessed for malaria parasite densities before commencement of antimalarial therapy and the results correlated with their CD4 T-cells levels obtained from their respective files. Results. Mean malaria parasite density on pretreatment samples was 43,168 parasites /μL of blood, median was 17,720, and mode was 4,000. Male participants had a higher geometrical mean parasite density (26,424) compared to females’ (15,346) (p = 0.03). Low CD4 counts were associated with high density malaria parasitaemia and consequently, very high CD4 counts seemed to exhibit low malaria parasite density among PLWHA. An insignificant negative correlation, however, between CD4 T-cells count and malaria parasite densities was noted (p = 0.169). Conclusion. The study was able to establish higher parasite density among individuals with ≤200 cells/μL than their counterparts with >200 cells/μL of CD4 T-cell levels in PLWHA resident in Western Kenya. Secondly, males significantly had a higher geometrical mean parasite density than females regardless of their CD4 status. It is anticipated that the results from this study could be used/applied in developing interventional measures to address malaria/HIV-AIDS coinfections aimed at saving life, particularly in the sub-Saharan African region where the two infections are rampant.